Candidate Biographies
The following individuals are candidates for the credit union Board of Directors. There are four positions up for election on the Board. Each position is for a three-year term. Additional nominations will be taken from the floor at the annual meeting. (Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.)
Ron Dearborn
Ron is a retiree who spent 40 years at Quaker. During his time there, he helped design and launch the on-site training department, served as both a team member at the plant and as a Loan Executive for the United Way, and was voted Site Coordinator of the Year in 2009. Ron was the Chairman of the Benton County Volunteer Program for 3 years, serving during both the Pandemic and the Derecho. Ron is currently serving on the Audit Committee for QOCU. In his free time, Ron likes to travel and spend time with his family and his new dog.
Brad Dvorak
Brad has been a QOCU member for 21 years and a QOCU board member for 12 years. Brad has been the Secretary of the Board for the last 11 years. He has worked at Quaker Oats for 21 years holding various leadership positions within the Maintenance and Engineering departments and is currently part of the Quaker Divisional Engineering team supporting all 5 Quaker plants across the country. Brad, along with his wife Kristina and daughter Stella live in rural Lisbon. In his spare time, Brad enjoys hunting, fishing, golfing and working on cars.
Justin Jones
Justin grew up in Cedar Rapids IA and attended Jefferson High School. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, where he earned his BA in Accounting. After college, he went on to work in numerous fields including banking and accounting. Justin spent time overseas working as an international missionary in Ghana West Africa. Upon his return to the states, Justin worked as a Sales Tax Accountant, Iowa State Auditor, and is currently a Senior Accountant at Collins Aerospace. Justin has been a member of the credit union for 10+ years. Justin has been closely related to the CU because his mother is a 40-year-plus employee of Quaker Oats. For the past 6 years, Justin has served on the Audit Committee for the credit union board. In his spare time, Justin coaches basketball at Jefferson High School, refs high school football, and is a part-time baseball umpire. Justin enjoys spending time with his 3 kids and relaxing.
Ellen Sennett
Ellen graduated from Williamsburg High School. She attended Kirkwood Community College where she earned her AA in Liberal Arts with a focus on business and accounting. She then attended Hamilton College where she earned her B.S. in Business Administration and Management. Ellen worked at Amana Refrigeration for 10 years where she was a Team Lead and earned her Lean Six Sigma Greenbelt certification. After her work at Amana Refrigeration, she worked as a Root Cause Analysis Lead at Clipper Windpower for 5 years and earned her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification. She also had an article published in ASQ magazine for a project she worked on with a supplier to improve their product. After her 5 years at Clipper Windpower, Ellen accepted a position with Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids where she worked for 10 years. Ellen led many cost-saving projects that saved the organization several million dollars. While at Mercy she accepted the position as the Director of Labor Resource Management. Cost savings, strategic planning, budgeting, and labor management were her areas of responsibility. Ellen is currently employed with Collins Aerospace where she is a Senior Quality Engineer. Ellen and her husband Jared have been members of Quaker Oats Credit Union for 10+ years. Ellen has been married to Jared for 17 years. They have 3 kids, Kaitlyn 22, Brayden 16, and Addyson 12, and 3 dogs Kimber, Lulu, and Jasmine.
